Receptacle



w. ZHPPER 2,332,339

'RECEPTACLE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 2 SheetsFSheei; 1

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, Zia? d W. ZEPPER RECEPTACLE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECEPTACLE WalterZipper, Vienna,

Austria, assignor to Evans Case Company, North Attleboro, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts 11 Claims.

The invention has to do with a receptacle which is particularly adaptedfor cigarettes and the like and especially to such a receptacle as maybe carried conveniently in a pocket, handbag or the like.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a receptacle in which thecontained articles are more or less securely held in position and inwhich the closed receptacle entirely covers and protects the contentswhile the open receptacle exposes the contents and may present a portionof each contained article uninclosed and free to be grasped forwithdrawal.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the receptacleclosed. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the receptacle open in oneposition and Fig. 3 is an end. elevation of the receptacle open inanother position. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a transverse horizontal. section on the line5-5 of Fig. 4. Figs. 6 and 7 are respective views of individual elementsof the receptacle. Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are fragmentary sections ofportions of the receptacle showing the construction and arrangement ofelements in de' tail.

The receptacle consistsof two outer or cover members 20 and 2| which arehinged together on one side at 22. The hinge 22 may preferably besupplied with spring mechanism 23 tending to bias the members 20, 2| toopen position. The members 20 and 2| are provided with suitablereleasable catches for holding them in closed position. The exact formor shape of the'members 20 and 2| is not essential to the presentinvention. In the drawings the member 20 is illustrated as consisting ofa flat rectangular outer plate member from which extend inwardly at thefour sides walls 24, 25, 26 and 21. Likewise the cover member 2| isillustrated as consisting of a fiat rectangular cover member on which atthe four sides are inwardly extending wall members 28, 29, 30 and 3|. Tohold the cover members 20 and 2| in closed position any suitable catch 1device may be employed. In the drawings is, il-

At. its innerl that the tension of the spring 32 tends to hold I thecatch 36 in engagement with the lip 31 but pressure on the thumb piece34 will force the catch 36 inwardly to release the engagement and allowthe members 20 and 2| to be forced to open position by the spring 23.

The inner container for the'cigarettes or the like consists of twomembers 33 and 39. These members are identical in construction themember 38 being shown in detail in Fig. '7. Each member 38, 39 consistsof a more or less rectangular side member 40 having an end member 4|turned substantially at right angles thereto. There is on the member 46a bottom member 42 turned substantially at right angles to the member 49and provided with curled or tubular members at its inner edgealternating with cutout portions 44. The end member 4| in height isslightly more than the thickness of a cigarette or other article to beheld in the receptacle while the wall member 42 is only one half thisheight. When the two members 38 and 39 are brought together the tubularmembers 43 of one will fit into the cut-out portions 44 of the otherthus producing a more or less continuous channel in which may be placeda pin 45 which may thus form a pintle for the hinge connecting togetherthe two members 38 and 39. At the edge of the member 4| is an inwardlyturned lip 46 so arranged that when the members 38 and 39 are fastenedtogether by the pintle 45 the edge of the plate 4| will lie under theinturned member 46 of the other thus forming the members 38 and 39 intoa hollow rectangular receptacle.

The members 38 and 39 are preferably made of thin, more or lessresilient metal so that they may be slightly deformed from theirrectangular form, to cause the edges of the plate 43 to be engaged ordisengagedfrom the holding member 46'. Thus the receptacle formed by themembers 38 and 39 may be bent to the position indicated in Fig. 3. Theplate 40 is cut to form tongues 46 which may be slightly curved or bentinwardly so as to gently, resiliently engage the cigarettes or otherarticles marked X in Fig. 5 so as to tend to press them against theopposite wall of the receptacle and thus retain them in position. Thespring members 46 are alternately and oppositely disposed so that thecigarettes X are held on one side only by a single spring member 46.

The depth of the receptacle formed by the members 38 and 39 maypreferably be less than the depth of the receptacle formed by the covermembers 20 and 2| and also somewhat less in depth than the cigarettes Xor other articles, to

be held. Thus the articles X may extend beyond the upper edge of thereceptacle formed by the members 38 and 39 and so be readily availablefor grasping to be removed. The springs 46 not merely retain thearticles X in the receptacle but retain them in position so that thearticles do not rely upon each other for being held in the receptaclebut each is separately held and when one or more of the articles isremoved the rest are not disarranged but each remains substantially inits original orderly place and position.

As illustrated in Fig. 4 the inner receptacle formed by the members 38and 39 is freely suspended inside the cover members 20 and 2|, themember 38 being suspended from the mem ber 28 and the member 39 beingsuspended from the member 2!. The specific means illustrated for thissuspension consists of a plate 41 suspending the member 38 and a plate48 suspending the member 39. These plates are identical and one of themis illustrated in detail in Fig. 6 as consisting of a more or less flat,rectangular member provided at its lower-edge with curled or tubularmembers 49 alternating with cut-out members 58. The tubular members 49are held in the cut-out portions 5| between similar curled or tubularmembers 52 provided at the top edge of the members 38 and 39. Throughthe tubular members 49 and 52 extends a pin 53 forming a pintle of ahinge thus formed for joining the members 38 and 39 to the members 4"!and 48.

At their other ends the members 41 and 48 are provided with a tubularhinge member 54 through which pass pins 55 or 58. The pins 55 and 56extend beyond the ends of the bearing members 54 and extend into thebearings carried by the members 20 and 2|. These bearings consist ofmembers 51 which may be appropriately fastened by welding or solderingto the inside of the out-erward corners of the members 28 and 2!. Forinstance as illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 the member 5'! may besoldered to the walls 24 and 21 of the member 28. The member 51 ispreferably made of malleable metal and in addition to the base portionattached to the members 24 and 21 consists of an extending hook member58 which lies flat against the wall 21. The member 58 is in the form andposition illustrated in Fig. 10 when first installed. In this positionthe rod or pin 55 may be inserted against the wall 28 above the hookmember 58 and when in this position the member 58 may be turned to theposition indicated in Fig. 11 thus enclosing and entrapping the end ofthe pin 55. It will be understood that a similar member 5'! is similarlyprovided at the other end of the pin 55 for holding it on the member 20and members similar to 51 may be provided for holding the opposite endsof the pin 58 in the corresponding corners of the member 2!.

As assembled thus and closed the parts take the position indicated inFig. 4 when the. inner receptacle members 38 and 39 are held in closedposition by the catches .46" and are supported or suspended by themembers 4'! and 48 it being noted that the hinge 45 is nearly in contactwith the hinge 22 but is free and not attached thereto.

When the thumb pieces 34 are pressed to release the catches the members28 and 21 will be caused to separate by the spring 23. This movementcauses the members 41 and 48 to turn from the vertical positionindicated in Fig. 4 to the substantially horizontal position indicatedin Fig. 2. This movement causes the inner receptacle 38, 39 to be liftedso that its bottom is held away from the hinge 22 and the containedarticles X are lifted and freely exposed for removal. It will be notedin Fig. 4 that the members 4'! and 48 form an extension of the members38 and 39 and enclose and protect the sides of the article X when in theposition indicated in Fig. 4. In the position indicated in Fig. 2 themembers 41 and 48 have lifted the articles X which are thus free, openand exposed for removal.

With the device in the position indicated in Fig. 2 the members 38 and39 may be twisted slightly out of rectangular position and the catches46 may thus be released so that the device may come further open andtake the position indicated in Fig. 3. In this position the innerreceptacle is entirely open and may be readily cleaned and filled withthe articles X it being understood that the articles X may be placed forinstance on the member 38 and the member 39 brought over into contactwith it and the catches 46' snapped into place to hold the members 38and 39 together to form the closed receptacle. Thereafter the members 20and 2| may be brought together and the entire device held closed by thecatches 38. Articles X may be inserted as well as removed while thedevice is in the condition illustrated in Fig. 2.

The receptacle is illustrated as arranged to receive ten articles X andthis may be a convenient form to manufacture but the-number forms nopart of the present invention which may be arranged to receive moreorless articles X. The members 41 and 48 have been illustrated as flatsheets and such may be convenient and desirable. They iorm aparticularly pleasant appearance, especially when in the positionindicated in Fig. 2 in which the members 41 and 48 form a more or lesssolid background which may be ornamented if desired and from the midstof which project the articles X. This construction, however, is notessential as the plates 47 and 48 might be perforated or cut-out, ortheir entire centers might be removed and the plates consist merely oftwo end members. It is to be understood that the invention is notlimited toany specific embodiment and the particular structureillustrated and described is presented merely for the purpose of clearlyillustrating the invention.

The specific devices illustrated in the drawings may be varied in manyrespects and still form an embodiment of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting themembers to each other at one edge, catches at edges of one member,springs supporting the catches, finger pieces to release the catches,inwardly turned lugs at the edges of the other member releasablyengaging the catches to hold the receptacle closed, seats on the membersat the edges opposite the hinge, pins carried in the. seats, plates onthe pins, bearings. on the sides of the plates away from the pins,holder members engaging the bearings, a rod holding together thebearings and the holder members, a pintle hinging together the holdermembers at their edges opposite the plates, releasable means at thesides of the holder members holding them in contact with each other, andresilient members alternately and oppositely disposed in the holdermembers for en.- gaging articles. to be held therein.

2. A receptacle comprising two cover members, 75

a hinge connecting the members to each other at one edge, releasablemeans to hold the receptacle closed, seats on the members at the edgesopposite the hinge, pins carried in the seats, plates on the pins,bearings on the sides of the plates away from the pins, holder membersengaging the bearings, a rod holding together the bearings and theholder members, a pintle hinging together the holder members at theiredges opposite the plates, and releasable means at the sides of theholder members holding them in contact with each other, and resilientmembers alternately and oppositely disposed in the holder members forengaging articles to be held therein.

3. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting themembers to each other at one edge, releasable means to hold thereceptacle closed, seats on the members at the edges opposite the hinge,pins carried in the seats, plates on the pins, bearings on the sides ofthe plates away from the pins, holder members engaging the bearings, arod holding together the bearings and the holder members, a pintlehinging together the holder members at their edges opposite the plates,and releasable means at the sides of the holder members holding them incontact with each other.

4. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting thecover members at one side, two separate members hinged together to forma holder, means connecting the holder to the cover members at the sideopposite the hinge and releasable means to keep the holder memberstogether.

5. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting thecover members at one side, two separate members hinged together to forma holder, rigid means connecting the holder to the cover members at theside opposite the hinge and releasable means to keep the holder memberstogether.

6. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting thecover members .at one side, two separate members hinged together to forma holder, a rigid member hinged to the holder and to the cover membersat the side opposite the hinge and releasable means to keep the holdermembers together.

7. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting thecover members at one side, a holder comprising two members, a hingeconnecting the holder members together at one side and lying near thefirst mentioned hinge when the receptacle is closed releasable means tokeep the holder members together, and means for moving the secondmentioned hinge away from the first mentioned hinge as the receptacleopens.

8. A receptacle comprising two cover members,

a hinge connecting the cover members at one side,

a holder comprising two members, a hinge connecting the holder memberstogether at one side and lying near the first mentioned hinge when thereceptacle is closed releasable means to keep the holder membertogether, and means connecting the cover members at the side oppositetheir hinge to the respective holder members at the side opposite theirhinge.

9. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting thecover members at one side, a holder comprising two members releasablemeans to keep the holder members together, a hinge connecting the holdermembers together at one side and lying near the first mentioned hingewhen the receptacle is closed, means for moving the second mentionedhinge away from the first mentioned hinge as the receptacle opens, andresilient members in the holder members for engaging articles to be heldtherein.

10. A receptacle comprising two cover members, a hinge connecting thecover members at one side, two separate members hinged together to forma holder lying between the cover members, plates hinged to the outersides. of the cover members and the holder so as to form continuationsof the holder when the receptacle is closed and tomove the holderoutwardly as the receptacle is opened and releasable means to keep theholder members together.

11. A receptacle comprising two cover members, hinged together at oneside, two separate members hinged together to form a holder smaller thanthe cover members and resting adjacent the hinge when the receptacle isclosed, and means for moving the holder to substantially the outer edgeof the cover members when the receptacle is open and releasable means tokeep the holder members together.

WALTER ZIPPER.

